Yes the sequel to Gareth Edwards Godzilla will be released in theaters June 8, 2018. The Sequel will also be directed by Gareth Edwards and I hope he does a better job than he did on his Monsters sequel: Monsters Dark Continent which was just awful on so many levels. In fact I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of low budget sci-fi movies and this was so bad I couldn’t finish watching it. In fact I didn’t get much past the opening scenes. And I made it through two of three Sharknado movies so far. I haven’t had time to watch Sharknado 3 yet but it’s on the list to be watched. But I digress.

The recent deal between Legendary Studios and Universal means that Legendary now has access to other characters from Toho. Characters like Mothra, King Ghidorah and Rodan. These could now potentially show up in the next Godzilla movie. Squee! I really like the rumor that the Monarch organization will still be involved. It seems like a good plot idea to me.

As for the original Toho Godzilla, well Toho has given Shin-Godzilla an English title for the 2016 movie: Godzilla Resurgence. The initial filming has been done as of this post and effects work is now being done. Shin-Godzilla is due for theatrical release in the summer of 2016.

Last weekend I started a project to expand my raised bed flower garden. I installed the original raised bed quite a few years ago and as things changed I found myself able and motivated to expand it that last 10 inches. You can read about it here. Taking that wall apart and rebuilding it was backbreaking work.

Not to be outdone, this weekend I decided to finish up what I started last weekend. There was one corner on the upper left side that had not been finished. It was super difficult to get the established weeds out of that spot and the little bit of rain we got wasn’t enough to soak the soil and make it any easier to get them out.

There was also a third level of raised bed that had sunk into the soil over the intervening years and I decided to unearth those blocks and raise them up a bit. All of this along with my intention to weed a small area each weekend until I have the whole thing weed free.

Also, I bought a bunch of pansies. Winter pansies to be specific. They should bloom all through the winter. Plus I got to quote the movie Madagascar where King Julian says, “They’re just a bunch of pansies,” until everyone around me was sick of hearing it. The pansies were on sale so I got 10 of them for less than 10 dollars.

Intending to only spend a couple of hours on this finishing up project, I ended up spending half the day on it. The results are so nice though. It looks finished.

Just a bunch of pansies

I still have a few of the decorative blocks left over and I’m going to clean them up and finish up the back level next weekend. Because I purchased a rather large amount of them when I made the original purchase years ago I’ve been able to reuse the blocks, moving them from one spot to another and this has saved me quite a bit of money. I did not have to purchase any more of them.

I was planning on using the ones that hadn’t been put into the wall as bases for the rain catchment system I’m putting in this year but that’s not going to happen now. I’ll have to see if I can find a low cost replacement for my rain catchment barrels. That’s my next garden project.

Finishing touches

I did a lot of research on rain catchment systems and while I can’t afford to have a professional outfit come out and install an underground tank and all that, I do have the budget (thanks to Craigslist) to get a couple of 55 gallon barrels and the downspout kits for them. The important thing about this, well there are several but when putting things next to one’s house one very important thing is weight. A full 55 gallon rain barrel weighs in at around 450 pounds. So you don’t want to set it on a slope or someplace unstable. You want to make your foundation stand sturdy and level from all angles.

Anyway more on that when I get to installing them. I’m also planning to do a year of my first garden recap when I get the vegetable garden cleaned up and ready for winter. I’m about half way through that now. I’ve got a few tomatoes I’m hoping still ripen up a bit before I have to tear the plants out.

At the end of the day, because I’m clearly a glutton for punishment, I sat down and ordered a few small things to plant in the spring so that I have some summer flowers too. Tulips and lilies are gorgeous but they bloom in the spring and I need something to carry my garden through the summer with some flowers. We’ve already established that I never fail to order twice as many bulbs as I want to plant but this time I out did myself.

You see one of the flowers I love the most in my garden is a blue dutch iris. I’ve only got one and I’ve not found them online or in the garden centers by themselves. They always come in a mix and I always get a ton of white and yellow and almost no blue in the mix when I buy them. The white and yellow are gorgeous but my favorite are the blue. Well this catalogue had blue ones on sale by themselves and they were fairly inexpensive: $15.99. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well I did order them but come spring, when they arrive to be planted, they will be coming in a lot of 50 bulbs. Thankfully I have a great spot for them and they are tolerant of partial shade.

Cosplay:

I’ve finally had another idea for a cosplay. Last time I did Mothra on a budget, which you can read about here. This time I think I can make a wearable Biollante Rose Form. I went through several design ideas, starting with a mermaid under dress. While gorgeous and the right shape for the understructure it would be a royal pain to wear to a convention, so I reluctantly discarded that idea. I’m currently working with a wide leg palazzo pant and tank top for the understructure.

My budget is $100.00 and my time limit is 5 months. I have to work my cosplay creating in around my gardening and right now is the ideal time for gardening. We will see how it goes. K.

Wizard World’s Portland Comic Con happened at the Portland Convention Center in Portland, Oregon January 23, 24 and 25. Yes I’m a week behind and I do apologize, gentle reader. So many amazing things happened at the con and I did tweet one or two of them, and now I’d like to write them up properly.

Inspector Gadget Portland Comic Con 2015

Friday was the first day of the con and due to work I didn’t make it. One must keep one’s job to continue to enjoy going to cons. Saturday I wore my Mothra cosplay and Sunday I wore my steampunk cosplay. I’m afraid I didn’t get any pictures of my steampunk cosplay, which is a shame because I finally put together something really nice. Next time for sure!

Classic Catwoman & Penguin

Speaking of cosplay there were some amazing ones at the con. There was a classic Catwoman with a Penguin that was fantastic. I also saw another Popeye. There was an adorable little Midna as well as a couple of Zeldas and several Links.

The booths were amazing too. I even bought some comics at this con, all of them Doctor Strange. The best booth of the con, IMHO, though was the Rock Rebel table. I was walking by, on my way to another booth I wanted to take a look at and I stopped in my tracks because there, on the table, were several different bags with classic monsters on them, and they had matching billfolds.

He was thrilled to discuss Godzilla and the Munsters while I was selecting my bag. He loved the Gareth Edwards Godzilla and was surprised and excited to hear that Toho is planning on their own Godzilla reboot this year. We also discussed how Lillian Munster’s dress was so tight she couldn’t walk in it and had to be carried to where she would stand on set. Then he told me about how the Munsters drove off in the Munster Koach, went joy riding on the freeway in full make-up one day and caused quite a commotion.

It’s so much fun to meet another fan. But I digress, he had Walking Dead totes and bags as well as shirts and even Addams Family, Jaws and Edward Scissors Hands stuff so there was something for everyone but what really caught my eye were the bags. These aren’t just cheap bags thrown together either. He was very proud of them and showed me how they are lined with different fabric and patterns. I simply love my bag and I love the billfold even more. The bag holds everything I could ask for, and although it could use a couple more pockets for organizational purposes, it is plenty spacious while still being a good size.

Rock Rebel

Now generally I’m not much on impulse buying, although at a con I do make exceptions. I’ve also needed a new bag since one of my favorites wore out just before Christmas so I’ve been on the look-out for a nice one. These are spectacular and they are unique pieces. I meant to only carry it for cons but I haven’t had time to change out to one of my more normal ones all week (and you thought it was just blogging that I get too busy for).

I’m speculating here, but judging by his reaction I was one of his first customers and he cut me a great deal on the bag and matching wallet combo. I asked him what made him think of this and he said that he’d been going to cons for a while and what he noticed was that while, yes, there were a lot of younger people there were also a lot of mothers there too and, he said, he got to thinking, these are the women who are kind of neglected fans and they are the ones who have jobs and therefore discretionary income to spend on unique items that reflect their own fandom.

Munster Go Home: Lilly Munster bag and billfold

I think that is just brilliant. I really found myself hoping he made bank because he’s right and there is money to be made and frankly, I’m tired of being overlooked at cons and stuff because I’m not a guy or a hot 20 year old.

Since he wasn’t all that busy and I had other booths to check out I asked if he’d mind if I stopped back later to ask a few more questions. He was quite happy to do that and said I could stop by any time. The good news is that when I swung back by, he was absolutely mobbed with customers. I was very happy for him.

The next thing I want to talk about is S. Shadow’s Natural Photography. I was fortunate enough to be noticed by their photographer at the Rose City Comic Con, which is where I debuted my Mothra Cosplay. Well he found me again at the Portland Comic Con and took another couple of pictures and they are gorgeous. If you are in the Greater Portland Metropolitan Area and you want some nice photographs taken I would recommend him.

Smaug and his hoard at the Weta Workshop

The Weta Booth was huge and well worth a browse. One of the members of my party (we actually had, very loosly, a fighter, a spellcaster, a healer and a beserker) got a pouch of the coins like the ones used in the Hobbit and a replica of The Key to Erebor. A must see for any Hobbit fans.

I got my copy of How To Survive A Sharknado signed. That is a very funny and useful book. Not only does it even have some practical advice but it’s actually an episode guide for all of the Sci-Fi Sharknado-like movies. Very clever that.

Safety First!

Of course it wasn’t until Sunday, when I was wearing my Steampunk cosplay that I stumbled upon a plush Godzilla and a plush King Ghidorah. Why, oh why, couldn’t I have found that when I was being Mothra?

We also sat in on Sacha Rioz’s panel discussion. He was delightful. Trying to get things going the MC, who clearly doesn’t know much about the show (Grimm), asked Sacha, “So you’re here for the con, is there anyplace you’ve found that’s kind of special since you’ve been here?”

Of course the audience was tittering as this question developed and Sacha was kind of grinning. He answered, “We film here.” The audience burst out laughing.

The poor MC just looked out at us and said, “And you just let me go ahead and dig that hole.”

Sacha also said that he didn’t know that much about cosplay, the MC asked him about it, but he found that most of the time, if he guessed “Doctor Who,” he was safe. That was very funny too. During the Q & A several cosplayers asked questions and he guessed Doctor Who on them. Only one was actually Doctor Who but there was a delightful Arthur Dent from Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, which is at least British.

I would have to say that the Wizard World Portland Comic Con was a rousing success for us. We had a ton of fun, found some great items and just really enjoyed every minute there. I hope others who went also had fun and if you’re considering going to a con, I would say you should do it. It’s fun for the whole family. K.

P.S. if you’re looking for a really nice corset for your Steampunk cosplay, or just in general you might check out Ms Martha’s Corset Shoppe (I’m hoping to save up for The Warrior, myself).

After much thought, and many second thoughts I must confess, I shared a fairly unflattering photograph of my Mothra cosplay on the Mothra fan page. I should not have been worried. The people that run it are lovely and so are the fans. I chose the photo I did because it is the one with the best lighting and shows off the wings the best of any I’ve had taken so far. I look ridiculous since I’m trying to make the wings as big and visible as possible but that’s the beauty of Cosplayers and fans–they don’t judge, they love the cosplay and appreciate the work that went into it. Anyway it’s been shared on the Mothra page:

Thanksgiving is this week and due to family obligations I decided to have my Thanksgiving early. I made sage and mushroom dressing (never stuffing) which is always a favorite, cheesy corn (based off my best guess from Jack’s Stack BBQ in Kansas City–if you ever get to KC do give that place a try. The BBQ is absolutely superb and the cheesy corn is so tasty) and I played with my mashed potato recipe, adding 7 o 8 cloves of garlic to the potatoes as they boiled and then a whole container of brie cheese when I mashed them along with the stapes, butter, cream and salt and pepper. They were the absolutely best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. I tried a new green bean recipe this time: Hoisin green beans with black sesame seeds. They were delicious also. Turkey was the main protein along with gravy to go with the mashed potatoes and dressing. There were also deviled eggs and this time I tried some fresh mozzarella capris hors d’oeuvres to get people started while I carved the turkey. There were rainbow carrots at the market and I got them to make glazed carrots. So a couple of recipes for you, gentle reader:

Garlic Brie Mashed Potatoes
4-6 large russet potatoes
7-8 cloves of garlic, peeled
heavily salted water for boiling
1 pkg brie, rind trimmed off and cut into cubes
1 stick butter (diet food this is not)
1/2 to 1 cup milk, half and half or cream (whichever you have or want to use)

peel and cut the potatoes into cubes and cook in boiling water with the garlic cloves until fork tender. Drain water, add potatoes and garlic back to pan. Add butter, cream, brie, salt and pepper. Mash with potato ricer. Delicious by themselves or with gravy.

Clean and cut the carrots into coins or bite sized pieces or dice, whatever shape you like. In small sauce pan on low heat add carrots, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Put a lit on the pan and cook over low heat until the carrots are tender. Remove lid and raise heat to reduce sauce to a glaze. Yum-yum.

Now on to Godzilla. Fangirl nation did run my review of Godzilla Cataclysm Issue #4 and here is the link I promised. I have to confess that I totally gave in to my inner squeeing fangirl when writing this review. The truth is that I’m really particularly enjoying these comics and I’ve read quite a few comics in my time. I was, and still am, a huge X-Man fan. As any comic book reader will tell you, there are some stories that stand out and Godzilla Cataclysm is one of them.

Cosplay:

Mothra cosplay

Gratuitous pic of Mothra cosplay with Dirk Benedict

I still need to make some minor adjustments to my Mothra cosplay. I’ve also got a new piece for my steampunk cosplay that I’m very excited to try out at the next comic con I can get to. Honestly I don’t know how I could possibly top my Mothra cosplay and I plan to wear it to a lot of cons.

The wonderful people at Kaijucast posted a picture of the Mothra cosplay on their web site. If you love Kaiju you should really check them out. Their panel discussion at the Rose City Comic Con was so much fun.

I haven’t had a chance to catch up on all of their podcasts yet but they are the fine folks who suggested Daimajin to me and I really enjoyed those movies.

Kyle of Kaijucast with Mothra

As a huge Godzilla fan (you might have noticed) I checked out Gareth Edwards short independent film Monsters while waiting for Godzilla to get released on DVD. While the film showed clear indications of potential greatness, it never quite delivered on its promise. As a first film it was brilliant. As a movie, not so much. Gareeth Edwards ideas about women were questionable at best but there were scenes and suggestions of what might be that were just breathtaking.

When I heard that, due to the success of Godzilla, Gareth Edwards was going to turn Monsters into a trilogy I was less than enthusiastic. And yet, I am willing to give thin and the movies a chance. Godzilla was very good. Sure the human characters weren’t the best and the story wasn’t anything that will change your life, but it was a solid, entertaining and well done movie. There were scenes on Godzilla that were spectacular. One of my favorite was the one where you see the huge traffic jam with the plain down in the middle of it. Another is at the airport in Hawaii and the leading edge of the Tsunami heralds Godzilla’s approach. It’s brilliant touches like that that I saw the potential for in Monsters. You can just tell that Gareth Edwards knows how to put together a scene that will have impact and make an impression. The shot of the male MUTO diving into San Francisco bay after that boat is just spectacular, brilliant and the way the movie almost goes black and white in spots gives it that war-time feel that the original Godzilla was after.

I think as Gareth Edwards grows as a director the flaws will get ironed out and he won’t make rookie mistakes like in Monsters having a woman who is unaccountably unhappy to be going home to her wealthy fiancee but the man who is interested in her not having the depth of character or human decency to ask her about it before displaying clear interest in her. Then again if a guy who had professed interest in me, in any way, had lost my passport to a one night stand he just couldn’t do without, I wouldn’t be quite so forgiving. Just sayin’.

Those are the kinds of things that get in the way of a good movie. Just ask Kevin Costner. If people don’t like any of the characters, or have no reason to care about them (Water World) they won’t enjoy the movie.

With all that being said, I love giant monster movies. I love Kaiju. So despite the fact that I didn’t much care for Monsters, I could see moments of brilliance and the promise of a great director in it and I am kind of starting to look forward to Monsters: The Dark Continent. K

Comic Cons restore my faith in humanity. A bold statement? Perhaps. It’s true though. When I see hundreds of creative cosplayers in their fantastic costumes, most of which they made themselves, it makes me happy. I love the cosplayers who buy their costumes too. Not everyone is crafty, not everyone has time to make something but everyone can cosplay. This is who people really are when they are set free from the worries and demands of everyday life. People are creative and gracious, they are happy to talk about their cosplay and the subject of their cosplay. When you see two fans of the same game, say a Link and a Midna meet at a con it’s just magical. I saw Ronin glad to see Star-Lord just because they so obviously share the same interest. When you see a group of cosplayers you are seeing people set free from the mundane to express one facet of who they really are.

Another thing I love about comic cons are the celebrity guests. I have yet to meet a celebrity guest who isn’t just as gracious, kind and charming. They share so much with their fans and they are happy to do so. I know Stan Lee was disappointed at the Portland Comic Con that he couldn’t say more than a few words to each of the fans who wanted to see him. He always wanted to share, to sit and chat but, alas, so many people wanted to see him that the con volunteers had to keep the line moving. It was the same way with William Shatner. These are people who just love people, or perhaps more accurately an audience but they are storytellers, that’s what they are.

With all that being said, I have a confession to make: I got Dirk Benedict’s autograph again. I know, I know–why? I already have his autograph from ECCC2013 and he was quite charming. But it was so reasonably priced and his line was so short I didn’t have to wait hardly at all and this time I wanted a picture that spoke more to who he is than my fandom. So I chose this picture:

Dirk Benedict

I chose it because, after hearing his discussion panel this picture made me think of who he really is while still tying in to one of the shows I loved as a kid. Well I think I’m not going too far to say that I made his day by choosing that photograph. He immediately got excited and started talking about how this is his favorite picture. Turns out he had this picture taken in England for his mother but he liked it so well he had copies made to bring to conventions. He loves the shirt and wears it all the time, and the shoes are his favorite. In fact he wore them to the con and showed me. I think he was really touched when I told him why I chose that photo. He also liked my Mothra hat. We chatted for 5 or 10 minutes and his excitement about this photo had other people in line leaning in to listen and just smiling too. It’s something special when you can bring so much joy into someone’s life by something so small. He also said that this was only the second one of those particular photos he’d sold, which to be fair is probably because people want pictures of him in the roles they know him in. So, if you ask me, totally worth the very modest sum I shelled out to get a second autograph. Oh! And he let his aide take a photo with him and I was wearing my Mothra costume, natch.

Nice hat

I love coming away from cons with stories like the one above. It really adds to the specialness of each con. Look for these moments when you go to a con and don’t be afraid to note them down as soon as you are out of line.

We ran into the fantastic cosplayers who were Yzma and Kronk yesterday. Yzma had transformed into one of the best, if not the best Loki of the con.

Loki looking good

Oh here was the cutest Star-Lord of the con. There were several good Star-Lords, really good ones but this guy was creative and low budget. Proof that you don’t have to spend a fortune to cosplay, just get creative!

Star-Lord with Rocket Raccoon and Groot–Sort of.

Having fun and making people smile is a fantastic way to spend a Sunday. So Rose City Comic Con was a rousing success both days and we had a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone involved, especially all of the cosplayers. And be sure to check out Kaijucast for photos of my Mothra cosplay with Kyle.

Also one last shameless plug, check out S. Shadow’s Natural Photography where pics from the Rose City Comic Con will be up Monday and Tuesday. His photographer got a couple of good ones of my Mothra cosplay.

Today is the first day of the Rose City Comic Con. As was my goal and plan I debuted the Mothra cosplay today. The hat is sturdy and the band nearly invisible once it was under my hair. The wings were a bit warm but very wearable.

We started off the day with the Kaijucast Godzilla VS. Everything panel. It was the best panel discussion I’ve ever been in. They showed clips from Godzilla movies for a whole hour. They also related trivia and lore about the filming of the movies and the actors. It was delightful. If you love all things Kaiju you should really wander on over to

the fine people who host Kaijucast, a monthly podcast about Godzilla and other Kaiju, were the one’s to turn me on to Daimajin which is a fantastic old trilogy about a kaiju that is based in myth. This year they were talking up the 1990’s Gamera, or as I like to call them, the good Gamera movies. Look for a picture of Mothra on their website at the end of the day today. I visited their booth (B5) at the con and had a lovely chat with them after the panel discussion. Also check out this fabulous Newt cosplay from Pacific Rim, totally squeeing over Mothra (totes in character if you ask me).

Cosplay Newt meets Cosplay Mothra

The cosplay today was amazing. I saw my first Yzma and Kronk from Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove. That’s a completely underrated movie if you ask me. This cosplay is fantastic too.

Yzma and Kronk

With Guardians of the Galaxy being so popular and the most recent Marvel offering I was expecting to see a plethora of Star-Lords and other characters. I only counted 2 Star-Lords, 2 Ronins and the cutest Groot you could want to see.

Dancing Groot

Star-Lord and Ronin set aside their differences fora photo shoot.

If you follow this blog you will, of course, already know that I consider the cosplayers to be easily half of the attraction of a con. I love to see how creative people are and I love to see the cosplay and the cosplayers enjoying displaying their efforts and talent. So without further adieu here are a bunch of pictures of cosplay from today at the RCCC:

The family that cosplays together stays together.

Midna gets a glimpse of her future with cursed Midna

Sasha of Cherno Alpha along with Newt and Gottlieb.

The Joker

Last but not least, you may be wondering how people reacted to the Mothra cosplay I wore. Well it’s a fairly obscure character so not a lot of people realized who I was. One guy even thought I was some kind of Pokemon (really?). The people who got it though were really excited about it. Their eyes would get wide and their faces would light up and then they would tell me how much they love Godzilla and Mothra. It was fantastic. I loved hearing their stories and I really am happy that my cosplay could make some other people so happy too. It was delightful. And yes I bought the soundtrack for the Godzilla movies and played the Mothra song periodically. (Totally stuck in my head right now too, thank you very much). With the theme song people seemed better able to recognize the character.

I will say that the folks of the Godzilla vs. Everything panel did have me stand up and show their audience before the discussion started and they sang the theme song for me. One gentleman stopped me as I walked across the lobby, “Mothra! Can I take your picture?” Of course and I was delighted to show the wings too. All in all, despite the relatively low number of people recognizing the character, I would say it was quite a success. I’ll be back tomorrow for the second day of the con and I’ll be Mothra again. K.

That’s right, gentle reader, I got it done and not a moment too soon. Today we are less than 7 days out from the Rose City Comic Con. I also helped stitch the skirt and cape for our Midna (of Zelda fame) that will be one of our cosplayers and then helped with the Godzilla cosplay (although that one may not make RCCC).

As an aside our Godzilla cosplayer has a conflict with the RCCC on Saturday so our plan to enter the team cosplay contest has been thwarted. Maybe we can do something like that when we get to the Emerald City Comic Con. Wish us luck!

I know last week I said it was day 14 but I went back and counted them up and it’s actually day 17 today. My total hours invested in the project are right at about 70. I splurged on two things this week for the costume, pushing the cost for materials up to $110.00 but several of the things I got are not absolutely necessary for the cosplay.

Yeah I got the bluetooth speaker.

Perfect example: I picked up a bluetooth speaker (toy of the night when I brought it home) and bought the theme song for Mothra to put somewhere (possibly in the front vest pocket) and play while I’m at the Con. That was $30.00 I hadn’t planned on spending when I calculated the cost of the materials. In fact that little splurge is responsible for me going over my second budget estimate. Totally worth it though.

I finished up painting the vest, which is making up the main body of Mothra, and touching up the wings. Check it out:

Finishing the vest

Painting the feet on the vest.

It’s a good thing I tried it on and wore it a bit today. I broke one of the dowels in two places just wearing it. I’ll never get one piece of the dowel out of the sleeve I stitched for it so it’ll have to stay. Thankfully the 12 gauge wire was in place and that’s helping a lot. I have to decide if I want to use the dowels and replace one (for a grand total of $0.39) or go with softer wings. I really like the visual I get with the extra support along the leading edge the dowel gives me so I’ll probably replace it before the con.

I really did not want to go with a big elastic strap to hold the hat on. I was hoping that a few elastic loops and some bobby pins would do the trick. Once again, in the trial the hat wasn’t as secure as I had hoped it would be, and not secure enough for me to be confident of it in a large crowd. Because of that I went ahead and stitched an elastic strap on it and I’m very pleased with the result. It doesn’t go under my chin but rather around the back of my head and I like it much better. This will be secure in a large crowd.

Some bonus pictures from the construction and modeling of the cosplay:

Stitching the wings on the vest.

Set up for painting, with the Mothra model.

Folded wings

Mothra will debut at the Rose City Comic Con. I am very excited and pleased. Looking at the pictures it looks even better than I imagined it would when I started it lo these many weeks ago. K.